Please support the Farm to Table Safety Act so we can expand food safety education initiatives to include training farm workers on how to identify sources of food contamination and how to decrease bacterial contamination of food.

This was a non-controversial amendment and was included en bloc during consideration of the last Farm Bill here in the House in the 113th Congress. Last Congress, it was known as H.R.3540, and text of the bill will remain the same.

When properly trained, farm workers have the opportunity to prevent the types of bacterial outbreaks that cause illness or death. We can create a strong front line of defense for food safety if we train farm workers on how to identify stagnant water, quarantine
dead animals or animal waste and prevent contamination.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that each year roughly 1 in 6 Americans (48 million) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases.

According to the FDA, foodborne illnesses are annually costing the US economy more than$15.6 billion in medical care and lost income.

From 1998-2008 46% of domestically acquired foodborne illness were from produce.

In 2014, bean sprouts from Illinois contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes resulted in 5 illnesses and 2 deaths. The outbreak was linked to Wholesome Soy Products, where FDA investigators found several problems related to unsanitary conditions during
inspections of their facilities.

In 2013, a Salmonella outbreak linked to Foster Farms chicken sickened 134 people across 13 states.

In 2011, cantaloupes from Colorado became contaminated with Listeriosis in what is the 4th deadliest foodborne illness outbreak in US history. The outbreak sickened at least 147 in 28 states and resulted in 33 deaths, and 143 hospitalizations.